When offenders are sentenced to a term of immediate imprisonment, they are nearly always made eligible for parole. That does not mean they will definitely be released on parole when the time comes but, rather, they are allowed to apply for release on parole. It will then be up to the Prisoners Review Board whether they are in fact released on parole and, if so, on what conditions.
Technically, parole is not available for terms of imprisonment less than 1 year, but there is a similar system in place for such terms called “administrative parole”. An application for release on parole can be made after serving half the term of imprisonment. However, the longest period an offender can be on parole is 2 years. As such, for terms of imprisonment longer than 4 years, the offender must serve all but 2 years before being able to apply for parole (as opposed to serving half the term). By way of example, a term of 18 months imprisonment equates to 9 months in jail before potentially being released on parole, while a term of 6 years imprisonment equates to 4 years in jail before being eligible to apply for parole.
The position is not surprisingly different when an offender is sentenced for murder. In those cases, the court must impose a term of life imprisonment and, if there is to be parole eligibility, it cannot occur before serving at least 10 years in jail.
